


Not the Intended Audience

by laramorgan000



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: F/M, M/M, a poets gotta share their poems sometimes, but michael wont talk to him, cause why not?, christine takes it upon herself to get everyone to open up and talk, jeremy is confused, michael is really good at holding a grudge, mike brooke rich and jake are poets, they all have things to work out, they go to open mic nights as much as they can
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-07 05:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17360192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laramorgan000/pseuds/laramorgan000
Summary: It was supposed to be an open mic night like every other night.Brooke, Michael, Jake, and Rich would get up, perform a poem or two, sit down, and have fun together.Well, that was the plan.Until the unintended audience walked through the door.Until Jeremy and Christine walked through the door while Michael was on stage and heard a poem that they were not supposed to hear.Jeremy decides that he really needs to fix things with Michael, which is really proving to be a challenge.(You may have seen these chapters on i-used-to-wear-the-fedora's Tumblr posted by 'Art Anon'. That'd be me)





	1. One

The soft jazz music played in the background of the small little cafe. Michael was lucky he found it. Somewhere small, quiet, and not so many people. The fact that he bonded with Jake, Brooke, and later Rich, was just an added bonus.  
He stumbled across it one night, it was nice, cozy, and out of the cold. He sat down on one of the couches at the back, watching whoever was standing at the microphone recite some bad, cheesy love poems. He was reminded of the notebook he carried in his bag, one he hardly pulled out unless he absolutely had an idea he needed to note down.  
He almost didn’t notice the two people that slid into the seats next to him until he heard one of them say his name.  
“Hey, Michael, right?"  
Michael turned around to see Jake and Brooke watching him. He nodded slowly, and Jake returned a bright smile.  
"Awesome. We haven’t seen you around here before…”  
“Are you planning on getting up there?” Brooke asked, tilting her head.  
Michael shook his head. “Not tonight, I just found this place…” He mumbled. Thankfully, they didn’t bombard him with too many questions and just let it happen and now he had two more friends, out of school of course. But they were still friendly when they passed each other in the halls.  
Rich joined their little group after the SQUIP. He found the cafe on one of the nights the three had planned to perform. He approached them after and asked for help with his own poems. The four were glad to help Rich with his writing and regain some of his confidence back.  
On this particular night, Michael was doing a pretty risky poem. Of course, the other three knew about it. And they had helped Michael practice. But practices are always different from the real thing. It would almost be an understatement to say that all four of them were nervous about the poem.

_“Five minutes._  
_That’s all I said._  
_I said I’d be five minutes._  
_You said you wanted to be alone because you didn’t think it worked_  
_And I gave you five minutes…_  
_And you weren’t there when I got back._  
_And so I waited._  
_And I waited and I waited and I waited and I waited_  
_And you never came back!_  
_You left without me._  
_You had a way out._  
_You had a way to get what you wanted-_  
_And I wasn’t supposed to come along for the ride.”_

Jeremy and Christine laughed as they walked down the street. Date night. The went out to see some cute little indie movie and were trying to find somewhere to stop and eat.  
Christine suddenly tugged on Jeremy’s arm. “Jeremy! Look!” She pointed to the cafe.  
Jeremy smiled. “I’ve never been there. It looks nice."  
Christine nodded, grabbing Jeremy’s hand and pulling him across the road. They walked inside, stopping just inside the doorway when they saw Michael.

_"And the next day at school,_  
_Oh, don’t get me started._  
_Boy, how foolish was I to expect you to talk to me?_  
_Because you didn’t._  
_I know because I tried, and you blocked me from your vision,_  
_You pretended I didn’t exist,_  
_You forgot about me!_  
_I wasn’t important enough to keep in your life._  
_Every day the same thing happened._  
_It kept happening._  
_Do you know how much it hurts to be ignored and forgotten by the person you cared for the most?_  
_No._  
_Of course, you don’t._  
_You haven’t lived it._  
_But it’s not your fault._  
_It’s never your fault.”_

Rich’s eyes widened when he saw Christine and Jeremy walk in, huge smiles on their faces until they saw Michael. He watched as the colour seemed to drain from Jeremy’s face. This was bad, this was bad, this was very very bad.

_“It listened to you,_  
_Did whatever you wanted._  
_It was supposed to listen to you!_  
_But you let it control you._  
_And the person I knew was replaced by a robot wearing his skin._  
_I just wanted to help you._  
_I told you I wanted to help you._  
_But you didn’t take it._  
_You twisted my words around_  
_And I knew it was you talking._  
_Not the robot hiding under your skin._  
_Your words were dripped in venom which you carelessly threw at me_  
_Without even giving me a second glance._  
_And you didn’t look back.”_

Rich reached out, shaking Jake’s shoulder as he kept his eyes on Jeremy and Christine. Jake frowned, looking at Rich before following his gaze. Oh shit…

_“The walls closed in._  
_Everything closed in_  
_Encasing me in a cage of my own thoughts_  
_Stopping me frown reaching out to the door._  
_And by the time I escaped, my way out was encased in flames._  
_It’s one thing to have people_  
_You don’t care about leave you to suffer in an ember cage._  
_Another for the person you trust to stab you in the back_  
_And leave you there to rot.”_

Brooke noticed the other two weren’t watching and looked at them, her eyes landing on Jeremy and Christine. The three of them looked at each other before looking back at Michael. This wasn’t going to go well.

_“I thought I lost you._  
_I thought I lost you forever._  
_You didn’t want me around,_  
_Your venomous words showed me that._  
_But I just couldn’t stay away._  
_I struggled to keep a hold_  
_Of the last pieces, I had of you before they slipped through my fingers._  
_Only one thing didn’t leave._  
_So, I helped you._  
_I freed you from what was tying you down._  
_After everything you did,_  
_Everything you did to me,_  
_I keep coming back._  
_Why?_  
_Because I love you.”_

And at that moment, Michael locked eyes with Jeremy. He tensed, and Jeremy saw the flash of fear in his friend’s eyes. Michael dropped the microphone, running off the stage, Brooke following. Jeremy went to follow before being stopped by Jake and Rich.  
“Let me go!"  
"Jeremy- We can’t let you pass."  
"I have to talk to him-"  
"He’s not going to want to talk to you right now!”  
Michael pushed open the door, walking out into the alleyway behind the cafe, pacing. Brooke followed him outside, biting her lip as she walked over to Michael. She placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to tense. Michael looked at her, relaxing and leaning into her touch. Brooke wrapped her arms around the boy and Michael hugged her back.  
“He wasn’t supposed to hear it! Brooke, he wasn’t supposed to find out!” Brooke sighed softly.  
“I know, Mikey, I know…”  
“And Christine was there too! And they’re still together! I don’t know what to do!” Brooke gently rubbed Michael’s back as he slowly broke down.  
“Guys, please! He’s my best friend, I need to talk to him!” Jeremy said, trying to push past Jake and Rich.  
“We can’t let you talk to him,” Rich said. “The only reason he did this was because he didn’t want you to hear it!” Jake snapped. Jeremy frowned.  
“I didn’t know he felt that way! He never said anything!” Rich laughed and shook his head.  
“You certainly didn’t notice anything during That. But after? If you really cared, you would have noticed!”  
“I do care! I just-”  
“Stop!” Christine yelled. “All three of you. You’re causing a scene. Jeremy… We should go… You can talk to Michael when he’s ready to talk.” Jeremy sighed in defeat, letting Christine lead him out of the cafe.  
“How come he couldn’t tell me those things but could tell Jake, Rich, Brooke, and a bunch of strangers?” Christine shrugged, linking arms with Jeremy as they walked.  
“There’s something about being on a stage that helps some people. And putting your words together like that, helps you get your feelings out.”  
“But I never knew he liked poetry either…” Christine looked at Jeremy for a moment, studying his face.  
“Art is personal, Jeremy. It takes a lot of courage to perform something. Either something you’ve written or someone else’s. Either way, it takes a lot out of you emotionally. You just need to give Michael a bit of time. When he’s ready, he’ll talk to you.”


	2. Two

A few days went by, and Jeremy barely saw Michael. When he wasn’t at lunch, no one would tell him where he was. A few weeks went by and Jeremy was worried, even more than before. Brooke, Jake, and Rich were also missing along with Michael on this particular day. Christine seemed hesitant to let Jeremy look for them, but she did. Despite the fact that she didn’t think he’d like what he heard. The group of four would sometimes take refuge in the auditorium, practising. She’d heard their new poems, helping them out with their presentation. And if you thought Michael’s poem was bad, this one was a little worse.

Jeremy walked into the auditorium, hearing the group of four laugh. Michael seemed happy… He hadn’t seen Michael this happy in so long. He managed to slip into a seat, unnoticed as Brooke stood up in the centre of the stage.  
“Okay, okay, okay, my turn!” She grinned before clearing her throat and taking a breath.

“ _You never notice how much time_  
_You can spend in a person’s shadow._  
_Sometimes, you never know you’re_  
_In it in the first place._  
_That’s how it was with her._  
_That’s how it always was._  
_She ruled the school with  
Her iron grip, her poisoned_  
_Nails dug deep into whatever she wanted._  
_And I was in her shadow._  
_Her loyal follower,_  
_Cleaning up her mess,_  
_Letting her take things out on me._  
_Because that’s how it’s supposed to be,_  
_Right?_  
_That’s how it’s always been._ ”

Brooke took a breath. Jeremy thought she was finished, but she launched into another verse.

“ _It’s funny, isn’t it?_  
_How blind you can make someone through_  
_Making them see you as their idol._  
_I know it works._  
_It’s a cruel trick._  
_I never got my own taste of the light._  
_I was always second best,_  
_Never out of her shadow._  
_And then I got a taste…_  
_A taste of what it was like to be me,_  
_And not her shadow._  
_I wanted more._  
_I needed more._  
_And so I clawed my way out of her_  
_Iron grip and scratched myself_  
_On her poisoned claws_  
_And climbed my way to the top._  
_And I take a breath,_  
_And I smile,_  
_And I let the light warm my skin._  
_I’m never falling back under her shadow.”_

She grinned and took a bow as the other three clapped. Jeremy frowned, wondering exactly who she was talking about. He had an idea. He wondered if she knew Brooke felt that way. He drifted out of his thoughts when he heard Michael speak.  
“I’m really not sure about this one, guys… But here we go.” He took a deep breath.

“ _I have two words for you._  
_Fuck. And you._  
_Fuck you._  
_You knew I’d always be by your side._  
_And you are so lucky I still am._  
_You never took anyone’s feelings into account._  
_You let yourself do whatever you want,_  
_And now you’re letting yourself believe_  
_That everything is okay._  
_Oh, yeah, everything is okay._  
_Everything’s fine._  
_Oh, sure, we can totally go back to normal._  
_We can totally forget everything you did._  
_We can totally forget about all that shit._  
_But deep down?_  
_I know you know that’s not true._  
_But fuck you for pretending it is._  
_You think we’re back to normal?_  
_No, we’re far from it._  
_You’re still living in that_  
_Perfect dream world with that_  
_Perfect girlfriend and that_  
_Perfect group of friends and that_  
_Perfect best friend and you’re living that_  
_Perfect life._  
_But we’re not._  
_Your dreams are clouding your vision._  
_You don’t see what’s really going on_  
_Beneath the surface._  
_So fuck you._  
_Get down from your pedestal_  
_And take a good look around._  
_Everything isn’t okay._  
_And fuck you if you think it is._ ”

Michael took a shaky breath and sat down with the other three.  
“That was really good, Mikey!” Rich said. Jake and Brooke nodded in agreement.  
“You should definitely do that Thursday night at Halcyon.”  
Michael smiled. “Only if you do the one you just shared.”  
Brooke grinned and nodded. “Deal!”

Jeremy sunk lower and lower in his seat as he listened to Michael’s poem. He knew exactly who he was talking about. And he swore he locked eyes with him for a moment. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his name. “What?”  
“I said I know you’re still here, Jeremy,” Michael said.  
“Do you want us to stay?” Jake asked.  
Michael shook his head. “No, I think it’s about time Jeremy and I had a talk.”  
Brooke, Jake, and Rich reluctantly stood up and walked towards the exit, each of them mumbling some sort of good luck as they passed.  
Jeremy stood up and walked over to Michael and the stage.  
“Christine told me-” He started before Michael cut him off.  
“I know. She told me as soon as she told you. What do you want?”  
“I want to apologise-”  
“Apologies don’t mean anything, Jeremy. How do I even know that you mean it?”  
“But I do mean it! Michael- I want my best friend back.”  
Michael sighed and shook his head. “I’m not saying goodbye forever, but I still need some time. Come to me when you are ready to talk about the SQUIP. We haven’t done that yet.” He scooped up his notebook and jumped off the stage, walking out of the auditorium, leaving Jeremy standing alone.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been another two weeks since Jeremy and Michael last talked. Michael had gone back to avoiding him again, and Jeremy didn’t like it. At all. It was beginning to worry the others too, how much they weren’t talking.  
And frankly, they were tired of it.  
So Christine and Jake formed a plan and lured everyone to the theater after school.  
Christine had just finished a meeting with Mr Reyes as Jake arrived with Brooke, Michael, and Rich in tow. She gave Jake a small wave, which he returned with a smile.   
Not long later, Jeremy arrived. He bit his lip, looking down when he saw Michael and hurrying over to Christine.  
Then Jenna and Chloe arrived, Brooke avoided looking at Chloe. Jenna frowned as she looked around the room at everyone.  
“God, you’re all so tense…”  
Christine stood up and bounced over to Jake. “There is a reason that we have gathered you all here today.”  
Jake nodded in agreement. “We’re calling an intervention.”  
“Or more of a counselling session.” Christine shrugged. “No one is leaving this theater until everything has been sorted out.”  
The rest of the group began to protest but Christine frowned.  
“Quiet! All of you!” She snapped, and the others fell silent. She smiled, nodding satisfied once they were listening to her again. “It hasn’t been that hard to notice Chloe and Brooke not talking to each other, Jeremy and Michael not talking to each other, Jenna being quiet, and the same with Rich. And Jake- Don’t think that you’re off the hook either. Now, sit your asses down and somebody better open up first.” The short girl took a seat in the centre of the stage, waiting for the others to join her.  
One by one, they all joined Christine on the stage, sitting down in a circle. Christine smiled.  
“So… Who’s first?” She looked around the circle, everyone avoiding her gaze. She frowned. “Alright then, if none of you are going to start, I will.”  
She took a deep breath, looking around at everyone in the circle.  
“Right… Well, we’re all going through problems, right? Some of them are big, some of them aren’t. People don’t think mine a big. Like when I worry about if we’re going to have enough people or funds for the next show. Although, we can easily sort those out. I don’t have to worry about the drama club not having enough people, but it’s the funding that worries me. And that’s not something I can control. So, why worry about something you can’t control, right?” She smiled, shrugging. “There’s a lot of stuff that you can’t control so you shouldn’t really worry too much about it because then you’ll be worrying about everything and-”  
Christine shook her head, running a hand through her hair. “But what I do worry about is if I’m living up to what I’m meant to be. Like, there’s so much that I want to do, and I don’t want to be stuck doing one thing for the rest of my life because what’s the fun in that? That’s why I love theatre. Nothing is ever the same, no character you play is the same and everything is also laid out for you in a script. It’s easy. You have a script, you know what comes next. No surprises or anything. What I’m trying to say, is that I worry most about the future. What am I going to do and where everyone is going to end up? Because you can control your future, but you also can’t control your future. I just don’t want to lose you guys. Now, or in the future.”

From then on, everyone started opening up about things, comforting each other. Christine smiled, it seemed to be helping them all, a lot.

Jenna talking about how she felt left in the background and how no one really wanted to talk to her. “And sure, I have all you guys but there are some things I know you won’t tell me because of what I’m known for: spreading gossip.”  
The others assured her that they wouldn’t leave her out now that they knew how she was really feeling. They assured her that she was more than just a source of gossip, that to them, she was a friend. That put a smile on her face.

Jake talking about his home life. His parents were almost common knowledge, but he wasn’t doing too great house-wise. Everyone offered him a place to stay if he ever needed it, and Jake was thankful for that.

Rich opened up about his dad, briefly, and said that he’d move in with Jake to help with the rent. He also talked about the SQUIP, why he took it in the first place. Why he set the fire. Why he did what he did and how it still hurts him. “Because, I know it’s gone, but I can still hear that stupid voice and feel the shocks and I don’t feel in control of myself. I guess the poetry helps with that. But it doesn’t help with everything. Hell, I can’t even sit through science classes anymore because of the Bunsen burners.”  
Jake wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close. “We’re all here for you, you know that. And we now understand why you did what you did.”  
Rich bit his lip before looking up at Jake. “Why did you save me?”  
Jake frowned. “You’re my best friend, dude. I wasn’t going to let you or anyone stay in that house. And I forgive you because now I know what you went through. And I missed having you around.”  
Rich hummed and let his head rest on Jake’s shoulder.

Chloe and Brooke talked about their relationship. Brooke finally letting out everything that she hadn’t said. From the way Chloe treated her to the night of Jake’s party to even after that and how Chloe tried to go back to being friends. She let everything out, sliding her open notebook with her poem over to Chloe.  
Chloe sat there and took it all in, listening to Brooke, thinking back over her actions, reading the poem.  
“I didn’t… I’m sorry, Brooke… I never meant to hurt you. I’ll try harder, okay? I’ll really try. I promise.”  
Jeremy bit his lip before he spoke. “I never really wanted it…” He said quietly, which caught everyone’s attention. Chloe, Brooke, and Michael frowned.  
“Wanted what?” Brooke asked.  
“T-The night of the p-party? I-In the bedroom?”  
Chloe’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “O-Oh my god, Jeremy- I-I’m so sorry-”  
“I tried to move b-but the SQUIP… I-It wouldn’t let me move a-and I was stuck there-” Jeremy shook his head, pulling his knees to his chest. Chloe bit her lip before she moved over to Jeremy.  
“Is- Is it okay if I hug you?” She asked. Jeremy nodded, and she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry. I never would have done any of that if I knew you didn’t want it.”  
Jeremy leaned against her before he hugged her back. “You didn’t know…”   
The two let go after a few moments and Chloe moved back to her seat again.

Michael bit his lip, fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie. Jeremy wiped his eyes and looked over at him.   
“I’m sorry.”  
Michael and Jeremy looked at each other for a moment, both of them apologising at the same time. Michael bit his lip and gestured to Jeremy to keep going.   
Jeremy fiddled with his cardigan. “I’m sorry for leaving you, I’m sorry for blocking you out, I’m sorry for not listening to you, I’m sorry for our fight, I’m sorry for everything.”  
“Why did you do it?”  
Jeremy bit his lip. “I… I was sick of being the loser. Michael- you were a great friend, you’ve always been an amazing friend. But I just-” He sighed and shook his head. “I wanted to be more than just the loser. I wanted to date Christine. I wanted to be cool, to be popular, to not be the loser or the geek or whatever. And then Rich told me about the SQUIP and it sounded amazing, Michael. It sounded like it could fix all my problems for me. And it did! At least- It did for a bit. And I didn’t realise it had blocked you out at first but after that? I knew all about it. It said that it would help and that you would just bring me down and I was stupid to listen to it. And I missed you. In the bathroom? I was incredibly happy to see you and I had just gotten away from Chloe and hurt Brooke and was hiding from Jake and then you started… interrogating me and just made me feel worse and I lashed out… And I’m sorry. I hurt everyone, but I hurt you the most…”  
Michael nodded slowly as he listened, watching Jeremy as he spoke. “I was an ass. After it was all over, I was just- angry that you tried to go back to how we were before without even talking about it. And I never understood why you had to throw away what you had to get what you wanted. You’ve… kinda heard how I felt about the whole thing… I don’t feel like repeating it right now. It’ll just make you feel bad about it…”  
Jeremy bit his lip, tugging on his sleeves. “Can… Can we try again? Little steps, of course! Slowly get back into things?” He smiled hopefully.  
Michael looked down for a moment before he looked back up at Jeremy, a small smile on his lips. He nodded.  
“I’d love to.”


End file.
